Sharks centre Jeremy Ward has come within two seconds of All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett’s fitness drill record.

When Barrett joined the Blues from the Hurricanes last year, he set a personal best time and franchise record of 4.12 during a fitness test known as the Bronco.

During the drill, used to measure aerobic endurance, players run shuttles of 20, 40 and 60 metres five times over as quickly as possible. The standard time for a backline player is between 4.23 and 4.40 and between 4.35 and 5 for forwards.

Ward though finished the drill in 4.14, just two seconds off Barrett’s personal record.

‘Two seconds is a long way off,’ Ward told Netwerk24. ‘My legs just didn’t want to run react to what my head was saying.

‘I didn’t necessarily set out to equal or best his time. I just wanted to see how quickly I could do it,’ Ward explained.

‘It’s the toughest fitness test at the moment. You have to be mentally strong.’

On whether he now wants to try to break Barrett’s record, Ward said: ‘That’s the first thing everyone keeps asking me, but I don’t know. I’ll have to put more work into it.’

Photo: Steve Haag Images